Pediatric Snoring and Sleep Surgery

Although a common complaint among adults, snoring at any age is not normal. While your child may temporarily snore due to a sinus infection, chronic snoring can be a sign of an airway obstruction due to enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids, craniofacial abnormalities, allergies or obesity.

Symptoms or signs of a sleep disorder include:

Bed wetting

Being inattentive or unfocused

Frequent awakenings

Pauses in breathing

Restless sleep

Waking up in the morning and not being well rested

Diagnosis and Treatment

Because poor sleep can impact development and cognitive function, it is important to intervene with a sleep disorder early and to address any underlying causes. Our Pediatric Snoring and Sleep Surgery program collaborates with both the Sleep Center and Allergy, Asthma & Immunology for evaluation, including sleep studies and allergy testing. Your child’s own patient history will also be taken into account, and if necessary, a sleep endoscopy may be performed to view obstructions that occur during your child’s sleep.

Once a diagnosis is made, our team of specialists will involve both parents and the child in discussion and planning for treatment, which may include a combination of medical and surgical intervention. For instance, a CPAP may be provided by the sleep center to assist in the management of sleep apnea.

When surgery is needed, such as in the case of enlarged tonsils, our program offers advanced, minimally invasive surgical techniques to speed recovery and healing, including:

Partial tonsil removal

Shortening of the palette

Shortening of the tongue

For More Information

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 847.504.3300.

Dr. Mark Gerber, otolaryngologist at NorthShore: "The tonsils have a vascular pedicle that’s right in the middle of the tonsil, and in order to take that whole tonsil out you have to cut through that pedicle right at the capsule of the tonsil, so you’re baring those vessels there.”